Melioidosis
A recent study has revealed that melioidosis disease in Odisha has clear seasonality, with infections peaking during and after the monsoon season.
- Bacterial Infectious Disease
- Also called ‘Whitmore’s disease’.
- Both humans and animals can get melioidosis, but people can’t get it from animals.
- Mode of transmission – Inhalation, ingestion, or direct contact with contaminated soil or water.
- Can be treated with antibiotics
Saffron
Foundation stone laid for campus of North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) in Shillong which will promote Saffron cultivation in the North East.
- A spice that comes from the stigmas of purple flowers of the plant Crocus sativus.
- Known as Red Gold (red colour due to content of crocetin)
- Primarily cultivated in Jammu and Kashmir (GI tagged saffron), Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.
- Mission Saffron – To expand saffron cultivation across North East.
Reinsurance
Valueattics Re has become the first private firm to receive IRDAI’s nod to commence reinsurance business in India. C
- A risk management practice where insurance companies transfer a portion of their risk to another insurance company (reinsurer) to protect themselves from large financial losses.
- Regulator – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
- Governed under – Insurance Act, 1938 and IRDAI (Re Insurance) Regulations, 2018.
- The public sector General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) is the only reinsurance company currently operating in India.
Ramadevara Betta Hill
Ramadevara Betta Hill has seen its fourth consecutive year of successful breeding for the endangered long-billed vultures
- Location – Karnataka
- Also known as: Ramagiri.
- Historical importance dates back to the Vijayanagara Empire and Kempegowda’s rule.
- Served as a military and defense point due to its high vantage position.
- Has temples dedicated to Lord Rama and Lakshmana.
Houthi Rebels
Recently, the US launched surprise airstrikes against Yemen based Houthi rebels.
- An armed political and religious group
- Follow Zaidi Islam, a branch of Shia Islam.
- Part of Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” – an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas and Hezbollah.
- A civil war erupted in Yemen in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Yemen’s Capital Sanaa.